DARK FORCES I: THE NEW EMPEROR
by rpvee
Summary: Seven years after 'Return of the Jedi' a dark being has taken over the Empire's remnants. Who and what is he? Whoever he is, he's causing a disturbance in the Force, and is determined to destroy Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order...
1. PREPARATIONS

A Star Destroyer sat alone in the darkness of space. On it was hundreds of TIE fighters, thousands of men, and one very busy Admiral. This Admiral was Admiral Epon, and after receiving news of the New Emperor's coming to his ship and escorting him to Korriban, Epon had to make everything _perfect_.

And so stormtroopers lined up in rows in the Star Destroyer's main hangar, and the space where the New Emperor would be landing was cleaned.

"Captain!" a running Epon called to Captain Rotok. Rotok turned to the approaching Admiral.

"Yes?" Rotok asked, surprised to see his leader out of breath.

"Are you ready?" Epon asked. Rotok didn't understand.

"For what?" he asked.

"The New Emperor!" Epon shouted, angry that his captain had not been informed of the visitor.

"Emperor!" Rotok gasped. "So now he's the _Emperor_. Of what? The few planets we have left?"

"No time for questions. Just get ready." Epon ordered.

"Yes, sir." Rotok bowed his head and took off.

…………………………………………………………….

"How much longer, captain?" asked a strong voice from the back of the speeding Imperial Shuttle.

"About an hour, my lord." the captain of the small shuttle called to the passenger. The passenger, the New Emperor, sighed. He was growing impatient…

And when he was impatient… he was angry.


	2. HEROES DELAYED

"Luke?" Leia Organa Solo asked the meditating Jedi Knight before her. Luke Skywalker, Leia's brother, just sat there in his chair, a pained expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" came a man's voice. Han Solo, pilot of the _Millennium Falcon_, entered his fighter's cockpit.

"Something's wrong with Luke." Leia explained, looking up at her husband. Han looked down at Luke.

"Luke!" Han shouted, tapping Luke's shoulder. Luke stirred, and his eyes popped open.

"Luke, are you alright?" Leia asked her brother.

"Yeah… there's just something in the Force." Luke answered.

"What is it?" Leia asked.

"You find out." Luke suggested. Leia closed her eyes and used her minimal understanding of the Force to see into the great power.

"I see… a darkness…" Leia said, and she opened her eyes.

"Yes." Luke said.

"A darkness?" Han said in surprise. "What kind of darkness?"

"I don't know." Luke shook his head. "When are we taking off and going back to Coruscant?"

"As soon as we can. Jabba may be gone, but this place still gives me the creeps." Han said, talking about the planet they were on, Tatooine.

A loud roar filled the room, and Chewbacca the Wookie entered.

"Oh, great," Han rolled his eyes, looking out of the cockpit window. Chewie was right, a sandstorm was beginning. "Just our luck."


	3. THE NEW EMPEROR

TIE fighters flew around a massive Star Destroyer as an Imperial shuttle approached it. In the shuttle was the New Emperor.

"Sir!" a stormtrooper said to a frantic Admiral Epon. Epon turned to the soldier.

"What!" he asked.

"Sir, the New Emperor is here." The trooper said.

"What? Then get into position!" Epon shouted.

The stormtrooper nodded and ran off.

Epon looked around. The hallways were deserted. Everyone was down at the main hangar. Well, everyone but Epon. So Epon ran as fast as he could to the elevators.

…………………………………………………………….

"My Lord, we have arrived." The captain of the New Emperor's shuttle called to its passenger.

"Good." The New Emperor said. He looked out the cockpit's window. The main hangar of the huge Star Destroyer was less than one-hundred feet away.

…………………………………………………………….

Admiral Epon ran down the hangar's length, approaching Captain Rotok. Rotok was standing next to the space where the New Emperor would land. Epon took his position next to the Captain.

Inside of his shuttle, the New Emperor saw his late Admiral out of breath. Being late was not very good for an occasion such as this.

The shuttle entered the hangar and landed. The landing ramp lowered.

This was it.

"Be careful with him," Rotok whispered a warning to Epon. "Those who have already met him say that he is worse than Lord Vader!"

"Is that possible?" Epon replied.

Six Red Robe guards walked down the ramp. Three lined up on one side of the hangar and three did the same on the other. Behind them were thousands of stormtroopers.

Then came the sound of boots against metal. The sound grew louder and louder until a figure in black appeared. It walked down the ramp.

This was the New Emperor.

He was human, and certainly no Palpatine. He seemed to be in his forties, and his hair was tousled. He was also very tall. Then came his uniform…

His torso was just like the late Darth Vader's: The black-grey shoulder plate, the black vest and shirt, the long, black sleeves, and the black gloves. The only thing missing was the control panel and helmet.

The New Emperor's bottom half was not like Vader's. The New Emperor wore a black kilt with several tears and holes. Under the kilt were black pants. The New Emperor also wore heavy, black boots.

Epon approached the New Emperor.

"Welcome, Emperor…?" he began.

"Suoidis." The New Emperor said, not even looking at the small Epon.

"Ah, welcome Emperor Suoidis!" Epon smiled. "It is an honor to meet-"

"I'm sure it is." Suoidis interrupted, pushing Epon aside and walking down the hangar's length. Epon backed away, glancing at Rotok who had a look on his face that said "I warned you.".

Suoidis reached the hangar's opposite side and turned to face the far away shuttle. The New Emperor grinned at all that had been prepared for him.

Then, in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Epon. Epon nearly screamed, but that would never do. Too shocked to even speak, Epon motioned to Rotok to escort the Suoidis to the temporary throne room. Rotok nodded and walked toward the elevators. Suoidis followed, and it was then that Epon realized how the Emperor had moved so quickly. Hanging from the Emperor's belt was a lightsaber.


	4. DARKNESS' STRENGTH

"OK, she's ready!" Han called from one of the _Falcon_'s many hallways. He entered the cockpit where Luke and Leia were. "There was a lot of sand in the engine, but I got it out."

"It's about time." Luke sighed. Chewbacca agreed with a growl.

Han fell in to the pilot's seat and tried to turn on his treasured ship. Nothing happened. He tried again. The _Falcon_ roared to life.

"That's a girl." Han grinned. His ship rose, and shot off in to the Tatooine sky.

"How's the Force?" Han asked Luke as the darkness of space engulfed them.

"It's still clouded." Luke frowned.

"And you can't do anything about it?" Han asked. Luke shook his head.

"You can't either, Leia?" Han turned to his wife.

"I can barely use a lightsaber!" Leia snapped.

Han laughed and turned back to his controls.

"Coruscant, here we come!" He said, and the _Falcon_ jumped to lightspeed.


	5. YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE

_Good,_ Emperor Suoidis thought. _My Force Cloud is working on Skywalker and his friends…_

Suoidis stood in front of his throne room's huge window, looking at all that would soon belong to the Empire once again.

Then came the unpleasant sound of a door sliding open. Suoidis turned his head, only to see Admiral Epon walking up the stairs to the level where he was.

"Emperor," Epon began, cautiously approaching his ruler. "I don't think we started out quite right-"

"We started out just fine, Admiral, 'just fine' meaning how I want it." Suoidis snapped, keeping his back turned toward Epon.

"Well I object to how you want it!" Epon shouted. He then realized what he had just said.

Now Suoidis turned to his Admiral.

And then his Admiral could not breathe.

Epon clawed at his own throat. Suoidis was obviously using the Force to choke him, but the Emperor did not have his arm extended like Vader used to. Just how powerful was this man?

"Perhaps you think that you can rule this Empire better?" Suoidis asked. Epon barely managed to shake his head.

Suoidis' eyes began to turn red, just like the late Palpatine's.

"Well then keep your mouth shut!" he roared, and Epon felt air enter his lungs. The Admiral collapsed, too scared to even think. Suoidis' eyes turned back to normal.

"What… what _are_ you?" Epon gasped, not daring looking at his superior. Suoidis grinned, and replied:

"Your worst nightmare."


	6. ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE

Two Red Robes threw Epon out of the Emperor's doorway. The Admiral hit the floor with a thud. Captain Rotok, who was just down the hallway, saw his friend in agony and rushed to his side.

"What happened?" Rotok asked, turning Epon over so that he could look at the Admiral's face. Rotok nearly gagged when he saw the face. It was deathly pale, with several cuts and bruises. A very weak breath could be heard.

"You two!" Rotok called to two passing stormtroopers. The soldiers turned to their captain. "Take him to the medical center!" Rotok gestured to Epon.

"Right away, sir!" the stormtroopers said. They picked Epon up, and carried him away.

…………………………………………………………….

The _Millennium Falcon_, now on Coruscant, landed in front of the Imperial Palace. Out of the cockpit window Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and the two droids R2D2 and C3P0 saw Admiral Ackbar running out of the Palace to meet them.

The _Falcon_'s ramp lowered and the passengers exited the ship.

"Welcome back!" Ackbar said as he shook Han's hand.

"Thank you." Leia said for Han.

"Your rooms in the Palace have been cleaned up for you. Go and have a nice, long rest." Ackbar smiled.

"No, thank you." Luke said. Five heads, three living and two mechanical, turned to Luke.

"What do you mean?" Leia asked.

"I'm going to go on a hunt for whatever is causing this disturbance in the Force." Luke explained.

"No! Not without me!" Leia protested.

"You stay here with Han and take care of the Empire," Luke said. "This is my personal business. I have to do this alone for the sake of the new Jedi Order." Leia nodded her head.

"I understand." She sighed.

"Thank you." Luke smiled. He ran over to the elevators, R2D2 following him. Leia watched him until the elevator doors closed.

…………………………………………………………….

Luke climbed into his X-Wing fighter. R2 was already in the droid hatch.

"Ready, R2?" Luke asked over his radio. The reply was an excited squeal. Luke grinned. "OK, then."

The cockpit's canopy lowered, and the X-Wing turned on. It rose, flew out of the docking bay, and took off into the evening sky.

From her bedroom window, Leia watched her brother leave the planet. The dying light of the setting sun illuminated her face, but in the Force she was covered with the shadow of sadness…


	7. RODISTRAN

Captain Rotok saw Emperor Suoidis walk by. Rotok left the stormtrooper he was talking to and tapped Suoidis on the shoulder. The Emperor spun around.

"Yes, captain?" he asked.

"Hello, Emperor," Rotok began. He looked down at the odd-looking lightsaber hilt hanging on Suoidis' belt. He had been wondering what had caused Epon's injuries. "I was wondering… are you good with a lightsaber?"

"No," Suoidis said. "I have not used my lightsaber in years. The Force is my weapon." He then turned and walked away.

"I see." Rotok said to no one.

…………………………………………………………….

Luke's X-Wing shot through space.

"Alright R2, here's the plan," Luke began. "We're going to stop at every major planet we can. I'm going to use the Force to find any Force-sensitive beings on each planet. Our last destination is going to be Tatooine." R2 beeped in acknowledgement, and the X-Wing jumped to lightspeed.

…………………………………………………………….

In his throne room, through the Force, Suoidis felt that Luke Skywalker had begun his search for him. This was good. Suoidis wanted Luke to find him…

So that the New Emperor could destroy him. To get revenge for Luke's destruction of the Sith by bringing the last Sith, Darth Vader, back to the light.

Suoidis raised his comlink.

"Captain?" he asked. A muffled voice came over the comlink.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Send the new 501st legion to Rodistran." Suoidis ordered. "Tell them to bring Luke Skywalker to me once they find him."

"Right away, my lord." Rotok's muffled voice said, and the transmission ended.

…………………………………………………………….

Luke's X-Wing came out of lightspeed.

"There's our first planet, R2. Rodistran." Luke said as a glum-looking planet came into view. "We have to be careful there, the planet's full of drunks and gamblers, OK?"

R2D2 beeped a reply.

"Good." Luke said, and they sped up.

…………………………………………………………….

After seeing the darkness of space for so long, the bright casino lights of Rodistran hurt Luke's eyes, and apparently R2's photoreceptors. The little droid crashed into three men in a row.

When people saw the lightsaber hilt hanging from Luke's belt, they either avoided him or gave him dirty looks. A Jedi on Rodistran meant a law enforcer.

Luke wasn't so calm, either. The Mos Eisley cantina had been bad enough. This place was worse than the cantina.

Much worse.

There were fights in every store and street corner. Drunks lay asleep on the ground. Buildings were engulfed in flames and nobody cared. Crashed speeders lay abandoned on sidewalks.

With every step Luke wondered why he had thought Force-sensitive beings would be _here_.

Suddenly there came a loud applause from and old, run-down building. Luke turned to the building and walked inside it to see what was going on. R2 followed closely.

It turned out that there was a hypnotism show going on inside the building. A dazed looking alien was just leaving the stage at the front of the huge room.

"Anyone else?" called a man in ragged, old robes. Luke realized that that man was the hypnotist.

Several shouts erupted from the crowd, all asking to be the next assistant. The hypnotist picked one alien, a Rodian, and the excited being ran up to the stage, only to be shot in the back. The shooter then ran up to the stage and took his victim's place.

"I am going to make this man," the hypnotist shouted to the anxious crowd. "Think that he is podracing!" The crowd roared and cheered. It then silenced as the hypnotist began.

Luke, interested, watched the hypnotist closely…

And then the hypnotist lifted his hand toward his new assistant and waved it.

Where had Luke seen that hand motion before? Memories flashed through his head… his father's redemption, Palpatine's attack, Jabba's palace, the Cloud City duel, meeting Yoda, the Battle of Yavin, saving Leia from Vader, Obi-Wan mind-tricking the stormtroopers…

That was it! Obi-Wan had used that hand-motion to use the Force!

Which had to mean…

Luke searched through the Force, and indeed, the hypnotist was using the Force! Luke used the Force to see if the hypnotist was using the Dark Side…

Not the Dark Side, but the Force-presence inside of the hypnotist was mad. Mad enough to create a Force Shadow…

Luke ignited his lightsaber and the entire crowd screamed.


	8. REVELATIONS

The room emptied in thirty seconds, leaving R2, Luke, and the hypnotist alone. The hypnotist narrowed his eyes at Luke.

"Can you arrest me later, boy?" he called to Luke from the stage. The hypnotist's assistant put his hands in front of him, made them into fists, and made a noise resembling a podracer

"I'm not here to arrest you." Luke said.

"Oh." the hypnotist sighed, obviously with relief. He jumped off of the stage and approached Luke. As he got closer, R2 backed away. "Well then what are you here for?"

"I have some questions." Luke held his saber a little tighter.

"I'll answer them once you put that lightsaber away." the hypnotist said, looking at Luke's weapon. Reluctantly, Luke turned of his saber and clipped the hilt onto his belt.

"So, what's your first question?" the hypnotist was expecting simple 'How do you do that?' questions.

"Who were you before you came here?" Luke asked. The hypnotist went pale. He turned around and walked back toward the stage, hands behind his back. His expression became serious.

"Do you want to know the truth?" he asked.

"Yes." Luke answered. And so the hypnotist told the truth:

"I am a refugee from Order 66, the order that eliminated the Jedi of the Old Republic. After the Jedi purge on Coruscant, I came here, where no one would expect a Jedi to be. I acted like the people here, but the act became the person. I went mad."

"Mad enough to create a Force Shadow?" Luke asked. Now the hypnotist grinned.

"Perhaps."

In less than a second, Luke's re-ignited blade was at the hypnotist's throat.

"Hey, hey!" the hypnotist shouted. "I said that I could, not that I did!" Luke turned the lightsaber off, but kept the hilt by his side.

"To tell you the truth," the hypnotist said. "I've been having the same trouble you've been having. The Force will barely answer me. Only my mind tricks will work because I use them so often. However," the hypnotist grinned, and out of his sleeve came an old, metal device. "I keep my lightsaber handy in case there's a fight during a show. What's your name, anyways?"

"What's yours?" Luke asked. "Your Jedi name, I mean."

"Ki-No Taj." The hypnotist said, his smile fading.

"I'm Luke Skywalker." Luke loosened his grip on his lightsaber hilt.

"_YOU_!" Ki-No Taj screamed. He ignited his lightsaber, his yellow blade pointing at Luke's throat. "YOU'RE FATHER LED THE ATTACK ON THE JEDI TEMPLE THAT NIGHT! HE KILLED EVERYONE! EVEN CHILDREN!" Luke was too shocked to speak. "I will now kill you, in honor of all of those innocent lives!" the hypnotist shouted, and he swung his blade at Luke's neck. Luke ducked, ignited his saber, and blocked the next blow to the waist.

"Stop!" Luke shouted. "He also killed the Emperor and came back to the light!"

"Do not lie! Your father was friends with Darth Sidious!" Ki-No growled.

"Who?" Luke asked.

"THE EMPEROR! THE SITH LORD WHO STARTED THE CLONE WARS!" Ki-No screamed. He swung again… blocked.

"Calm down! My father betrayed Palpatine!" Luke begged. The hypnotist realized what he was doing and turned off his lightsaber. Luke did the same.

"I'm sorry," the old Jedi said. "I shouldn't have done that. But I can help you find the cause of this Force Shadow. There is a planet called Kerran not so far away from here. Nobody lives there except for one man. He is a user of the Dark Side of the Force, not a Sith-" Ki-No saw that Luke didn't know what a Sith was. "A Sith is a Dark Side follower. Anyways, on Kerran there is a Dark Side user who has not seen civilization in decades. From his small home he shines a light that can be seen miles up into space. He hopes that the light will bring people to him so that he can make them his apprentices. No one ever goes there, though. He might have caused the Shadow."

"Thank you." Luke said. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, I'm fine here with my show," Ki-No smiled. "Goodbye, young Skywalker. May the Force be with you."

"And with you!" Luke called as he left the building. R2 was far ahead of him…

But the little droid came back beeping like crazy. It almost crashed into Luke!

"What's wrong?" Luke asked. R2 beeped an explanation that even C3P0 would not be able to translate. Confused, Luke looked down the street…

Only to see an entire legion of stormtroopers looking for him.


	9. ESCAPE

"There he is!" one of the stormtroopers called.

"Get him!" the legion's commander shouted.

The troopers charged. Luke ignited his lightsaber.

The battle was on.

The stormtroopers opened fire, and screams filled the air as people ran for cover. Only Luke fought back.

Green plasma sliced through white armor as soldier after soldier fell… but more and more troopers just kept on coming. It wasn't long before there were too many of them.

"Go, R2!" Luke shouted. He and his droid sped off in the other direction…

But another wall of stormtroopers was in their way. Luke then saw a narrow alley that led to another street. He ran over to it and went through it, R2 speeding behind him.

This street was also filled with running people.

"There!" Luke called to R2, pointing to an old building. They hurried behind the building… and entered the empty lot where they had left their X-Wing.

Luke fastened R2 into the ship, and then climbed into his own seat.

"Here we go!" he said, and the X-Wing took off.

From the street, the New 501st stormtrooper legion watched their enemy escape.

The Emperor would not be happy with them.

…………………………………………………………….

"That was too close." Luke sighed. "How could the Empire have known we were there?"

R2 beeped a confused reply.

"We'd better hurry before they find us again." Luke said. "To Kerran." Once again, he jumped to lightspeed.

…………………………………………………………….

In their shuttle, the 501st legion approached a massive Star Destroyer. They landed in the docking bay and exited the ship. The commander went to report their failure to Emperor Suoidis. Would they be punished?

And if they were…

How?


	10. DARK FORCES

Inside his chambers, Emperor Suoidis looked out his massive window. He felt the presence of his 501st commander getting closer. Eventually, the room's door slid open, and the commander entered.

"I pray that you have good news for me, commander." The Emperor said, keeping his back turned toward the trooper.

"No, my lord." The commander said, sorrow in his voice. "Skywalker escaped." Although the stormtrooper could not see it, Suoidis' eyes flashed red, but only for a second.

"He escaped?" Suoidis asked.

"Yes, my lord."

"Thank you for the report. You will leave now." Suoidis said without emotion. The commander bowed and left. Captain Rotok then entered.

"What is our next move?" he asked. Suoidis turned to him.

"First, eliminate the 501st." he said. Rotok's eyes widened in shock.

"But my lord, that is our finest lei-" Rotok began, but the Emperor interrupted.

"Obviously not if they could not capture one Jedi. Their predecessors could kill over a thousand." Suoidis looked down at Rotok and grinned. "Skywalker is going to Kerran. Send our finest starfighter fleet to meet him when he leaves. Have them force him to Korriban, where this Star Destroyer will be. Make sure he enters this ship."

"Y-yes, my lord." Rotok bowed. "Should we head for Korriban now?"

"Yes." Suoidis said. The captain left.

Suoidis took his lightsaber hilt off of his belt and held it tightly in his gloved hand. He had lied to Rotok earlier. The New Emperor was excellent with a lightsaber, and in a few hours Suoidis swore that it would taste Luke Skywalker's blood.

Vader's blood.

The blood of Lord Sidious' true apprentice.

Which should have been him.

Suoidis grinned. The revenge against the Skywalkers was approaching.

…………………………………………………………….

When he came out of lightspeed, Luke could see a bright light coming from the dark planet of Kerran.

"That's it, R2." Luke said, and his ship headed towards the light.

On Kerran, an old man in dirty robes saw a ship approaching his home. After over fifty years of waiting, an apprentice had come.

The mysterious (yet welcome) ship landed and a young man exited it. The boy was dressed in black, and the Force was strong with him. The old man grinned.

"Welcome, young one." The man said in a raspy voice. He shook the young man's hand. "What is your name?"

"Luke." Luke answered.

"Ah. Welcome Luke." The old man smiled.

"I understand you know the Dark Side." Luke said.

"Indeed I do." The old man said, walking toward a small hut. Before he could take another step, a blade of green plasma got in his way. The man turned, only to see Luke holding the weapon.

"A Jedi. You have come to kill me." The old man growled.

"No. I have come to ask you if you have created a Force Shadow." Luke said. He moved the blade closer to the man's throat. "Answer honestly. I will know if you are lying."

"No, I have not created a Force Shadow, but the Force has been clouded." the man said.

"Do you know what might be causing the Shadow?" Luke asked, sensing that the man had told the truth.

"Yes," the man said. "I have overheard Imperial transmissions on my old radio in the hut. People have been talking about a New Emperor named Suoidis."

Luke froze. A New Emperor?

"As you might know, Emperor Palpatine was a Dark Lord of the Sith. This New Emperor might be one, too." The old man suggested.

"What makes you think so?" Luke asked.

"Other transmissions have said that he is more powerful than some man named Vader." The old man said. "That is all I know."

"Thank you." Luke said. He turned off his lightsaber, entered his ship, and took off, leaving the old man alone once again.

…………………………………………………………….

"Well, now I have to find the Imperials." Luke sighed. All of a sudden, his cockpit's view port flashed green, and the X-Wing rocked.

"What was that?" Luke asked. All of a sudden, R2 'screamed'. Luke looked to his left, only to see over a dozen TIE fighters approaching. Luke gasped. "Well, that wasn't too hard." He said. He turned toward the fighters and the fight began.

…………………………………………………………….

"My lord, the fighters have engaged Skywalker." Rotok reported to Suoidis. "We will be jumping to lightspeed at any mo-" The Star Destroyer suddenly lurched and outside the room's window the stars became streaks of light. "Moment." Rotok finished.

"Thank you, captain." Suoidis said, and the captain left.

…………………………………………………………….

"Why aren't they fighting back?" Luke wondered aloud as he shot down another TIE fighter. He was right. Except for the pre-battle shot, the TIEs had not fired at Luke once. Luke sped to the left as a TIE fighter nearly crashed into him. Now they began to chase him, forcing him farther and farther out into space.

"There's only one way to get away from these guys." Luke realized. Once again, he jumped to lightspeed- a feat that the TIE fighters could not perform.

Inside his TIE fighter, the fleet's commander turned on his radio.

"Skywalker has jumped to lightspeed." He said.

"Very good, commander. Any losses?" Suoidis' voice asked over the radio.

"Only three, my lord." The commander reported.

"How long until Skywalker's arrival?" Suoidis asked.

"About twenty minutes." The commander said.

"Perfect." Suoidis ended the transmission.

On his Star Destroyer, Suoidis put away his comlink and watched as the streaks of light outside his window became stars again. Down below was the stormy planet of Korriban.

Suoidis took out his comlink again.

"Captain?" he asked.

"Yes, my lord?" came Rotok's voice over the comlink.

"Prepare my shuttle." Suoidis ordered. "I am going to Korriban with Admiral Epon. Epon is healed, isn't he?"

"Yes, my lord." Rotok answered.

"Good. Alert him of his trip." Suoidis then turned off the comlink and looked down at the home of the Sith Order.

…………………………………………………………….

Rotok entered Admiral Epon's quarters. The captain was still upset over the killing of the 501st legion.

Admiral Epon turned to Rotok. His face was still bruised.

"Yes, captain?" Epon asked.

"I'm sorry to be the one to say this, but the Emperor requests that you come with him when he goes down to Korriban." Rotok frowned. Epon went pale.

"Why?" he managed to ask. Rotok shrugged.

"I don't know." he said. "But the Emperor's shuttle is being prepared for the trip. You are to meet Suoidis down in the docking bay."

Terrified, Epon headed for the elevators.

…………………………………………………………….

Luke was thrown forward when his X-Wing came out of lightspeed for no apparent reason.

"R2, did you do that?" Luke asked his droid. R2 beeped a confused 'no'.

"Well then what could have…" Luke trailed off as he saw a massive Imperial Star Destroyer hovering high above his ship. "They stopped us somehow! Those TIEs forced us here!" Luke looked down through his view port, only to see the Dark Side in planet form. Korriban.

"Where are we?" Luke asked. On his data screen came information about Korriban and how it was the home of the ancient Sith. "Oh, great." Luke sighed. R2 beeped again. Luke looked up at the Star Destroyer in time to see a high-class Imperial shuttle take off from it, heading toward the grim planet. Two TIE Interceptors followed it.

"Should we follow it?" Luke asked. R2 beeped another 'no'.

Then Luke didn't want to stay for it to return. He tried to fly away from the Destroyer… but he couldn't.

"They've got us in their tractor beam!" Luke gasped as he saw the Star Destroyer getting closer. He had a bad feeling about this.

…………………………………………………………….

Leia sat up in bed with a gasp. It was 1:30 am on Coruscant, but Leia was wide-awake after that dream. In the dream, she had seen a Star Destroyer, a man who was reeking of the Dark Side, her brother in agony, and thousands of TIE fighters.

But this was no normal dream.

Luke was in danger.

Leia woke up Han, who immediately asked what was wrong.

"It's Luke." Leia explained. "He's in trouble. He's in a Star Destroyer and being held prisoner! We have to help him!"

"How the heck do you know this?" Han asked.

"I just know it. Come on!" Leia got out of bed and changed her clothes. Exhausted, Han did the same. He couldn't believe that he was going out in the _Falcon_ at a time like this.

"Where is this Star Destroyer?" Han asked skeptically as he and Leia approached the _Falcon_. Leia closed her eyes and asked the Force.

"Korriban." She finally answered.

"I was there before the War a couple times when it was an Imperial port." Han said. He and his wife entered the _Falcon_ and took off, jumping to lightspeed once they were in space.

…………………………………………………………….

After reluctantly landing his X-Wing in the Star Destroyer's docking bay, Luke exited his ship. Twenty stormtroopers were waiting for him. Luke reached for his lightsaber-

A blaster bolt that hit the floor right next to his feet stopped him.

"Give us the saber, Jedi." The stormtrooper commander ordered. Seeing that he could not fight the twenty well-trained stormtroopers, Luke threw the lightsaber hilt into the commander's outstretched hand.

"The Emperor has been anxious to meet you." the commander said after handing the saber to another trooper. "He has gone to Korriban for a bit, but he will be back soon."

"Why does Suoidis want me?" Luke asked.

"That's information that I do not know." The commander said.

…………………………………………………………….

The TIE Interceptors and the Imperial shuttle landed in the wilderness of Korriban. The landing ramp lowered, and Suoidis and Epon exited their craft. The two Imperial pilots also exited their ships.

"Stay here." Suoidis ordered as he began to walk up a small hill. He reached the top of the hill where there was a small mud hut. Suoidis entered the hut where he saw an old skeleton.

"Hello, Master Plagueis." Suoidis said to the skeleton. The New Emperor then saw what he was looking for: A scroll. He picked the scroll up and exited the hut. He walked back down to the ships and entered his shuttle. The two pilots entered their Interceptors. Admiral Epon was about to walk up the shuttle's landing ramp when it began to lift. The shuttle rose and took off with the TIEs, leaving Epon stranded on Korriban.

Inside his shuttle, Suoidis grinned. Epon would bother him no more.

Suoidis' comlink beeped. He activated it. A stormtrooper was on the other end.

"My lord, Skywalker has arrived sooner than expected," the stormtrooper said. "He has been put in a prison cell until you tell us to release him."

"Very good." Suoidis said. He then suddenly felt a very unwelcome disturbance in the Force. "Trooper?"

"Yes, my lord?"

"Send out every fighter we have and have them wait. The _Millennium Falcon_ is coming."

"Yes, my lord."


	11. THE BATTLES BEGIN

After landing his shuttle and riding the elevator up to the Star Destroyer's highest level, Emperor Suoidis entered his throne room. He walked up the two flights of stairs to the level of the room where his throne was. He looked out his massive window behind his chair and looked down at the thousands of TIE fighters awaiting the _Falcon_'s arrival. Everything was going as planned.

Suoidis turned on his comlink.

"Prison guard?" he said into the small device.

"Yes, my lord?" came a reply.

"Please escort Skywalker to my quarters… immediately."

"Yes, my lord." The transmission ended.

…………………………………………………………….

The cell door slid open, and a stormtrooper entered. Luke looked up at him from his bench.

"Time for you to go meet the Emperor." The soldier said. Calmly, Luke rose and followed the stormtrooper to the elevators.

…………………………………………………………….

The _Millennium Falcon_ shot through space at the speed of light… but it would still take quite a while for it to reach Korriban. Inside the famous fighter, Leia Solo sighed.

"Can this thing go any faster?" she asked.

"No, _this thing_ can't!" Han growled. He was still quite exhausted. Leia left the cockpit and entered the large, circular room where Luke had first started his lightsaber training. Leia ignited her lightsaber, its yellow blade glowing against her face. She walked over to a box, opened it, and picked up an old ball. She pressed a button on it, and it rose out of her hand and began to shoot lasers at her. She blocked every single one. Luke had trained her well.

Luke…

She hoped that he was all right.

…………………………………………………………….

The door to the throne room slid open, and a stormtrooper and Luke entered. For a moment Luke thought that he had gone back in time. The throne room looked just like the late Emperor Palpatine's. The fact that an armored man was right next to Luke didn't help.

Luke noticed a tall, strong man looking out of the circular window behind the throne. The stormtrooper cleared his throat, and the man turned toward the two.

"Welcome, young Skywalker." He grinned. He walked down the two flights of stairs. He was soon only a few feet away from Luke.

"Emperor Suoidis." Luke said. The man nodded, and then told the stormtrooper to leave. Once the door had slid shut, Suoidis punched Luke in the stomach. Luke fell to the ground in shock.

"It's about time I get my revenge…" Suoidis grinned. He unhooked his lightsaber hilt from his belt and ignited the weapon. Its blood red blade glowed against the floor. Luke stood up.

"What do you want with me?" he asked, igniting his own saber.

"Your life!" Suoidis howled, and he charged at Luke.

…………………………………………………………….

In the middle of her lightsaber exercise, Leia for some reason felt a jolt of surprise… but nothing was there to surprise her. All of a sudden she saw a flash of red, and heard a sickening laugh…

She was seeing and hearing what was happening to Luke! Suddenly her foot stung, taking her out of her trance. The training ball had hit her.

…………………………………………………………….

Luke and Suoidis' lightsabers were locked together. Suoidis laughed.

"You're used to fighting nothing but a _cyborg_, Skywalker." He grinned. "I fight like the Jedi of the Old Republic. You've never face anything like me!" He attacked again, his saber twirling left and right, blows coming from all directions. Luke could barely keep up.

"Why are you so against me, Suoidis?" Luke managed to ask. Suoidis suddenly stopped. His smile faded, and his eyes turned red.

"Your father." he said. "Your father was Darth Sidious' apprentice… and all I was was the Emperor's Backup!"

"The what?" Luke asked.

"In case your father failed a mission and was killed, I would become Sidious' next apprentice- a backup. But Vader was the treasured Chosen One, he would not be defeated by anyone. I was useless. _I_ should have been the true apprentice, and _he_ should have been the Backup! I was more powerful than Vader! But Sidious did not realize that… but now my revenge against the Skywalker bloodline has arrived. I will show the damned soul of the Dark Lord Sidious who was more powerful than who! I! Darth Suoidis! RULER OF THE SITH ORDER!"

And suddenly Darth Suoidis reached inside of his lightsaber hilt… and he pulled out another hilt that attached to the original end. He ignited the new end… now he had a double bladed lightsaber.

"That lightsaber's impossible! The inside of one half would have to be hollow-" Luke began, but Suoidis interrupted.

"My lightsaber doesn't need the crystals and wires that yours has!" Suoidis said. "The Force is its power source!" Suoidis charged, and now Luke was fighting a fighting style _and_ weapon that he had never fought before.

…………………………………………………………….

The _Millennium Falcon_ came out of lightspeed. Korriban was in view… as was a Star Destroyer.

"Well, what do you know?" Han said as Leia entered the cockpit. "You were right."

"What are those?" Leia asked, pointing to the moving gray dots that were flying all around the Star Destroyer. Han looked closely at the dots… and then he went pale.

"We have to go." He said, steering the Falcon away from the Destroyer.

"What's wrong?" Leia asked. She then saw the dots grow larger, and some began to shoot green laser bolts at the _Falcon_. They were TIE fighters.

The _Falcon_ completed its turn… but another wall of TIE fighters was in its way of escaping. Han looked to his left and right… TIE fighters blocked those exits, too. He and Leia were trapped.

"Strap yourself in." Han said to his wife. Leia sat down and put on her safety restraints.

And suddenly, every single TIE fighter attacked.


	12. DARK VS LIGHT

Luke began to catch on to fighting the double-bladed saber, but he was certainly no expert. The duel continued into the shadows of the room, the glow of the sabers the only light source.

One side of Suoidis' saber attacked Luke's feet. Luke blocked the blow, but the other end of the Sith Lord's saber came down upon Luke's head. Luke just managed to jump out of the way. This man was too strong for the Jedi. Hoping to hide so that he could catch his breath, Luke turned off his lightsaber. The shadows engulfed him.

"Very clever, Jedi," Suoidis said. "But you underestimate me." The New Emperor turned off his lightsaber, put one hilt of his lightsaber into the other, and clipped the weapon on to his belt. Suddenly he raised both of his now ungloved hands toward the ceiling, and out of his hands came lightning that spread throughout the room, shedding light on everything. The lightning went after the metal of the nearby poles and the staircases, sending sparks everywhere. Some machines exploded.

Through all of the smoke Suoidis saw the silhouette of a kneeling man. The Sith Lord had found his prey.

Suoidis stuck his right hand out at Luke, and lightning flew at the Jedi Knight. It sent Luke across the room and into the light. Suoidis followed him.

Luke lay on the floor, trying to not let his pain show. That lightning had been more intense than Palpatine's!

"Are you ready for death, Luke?" Suoidis asked as he looked down upon his foe. "Are you looking forward to seeing Obi-Wan and Yoda again? Yes, I know all about your secret training. The Dark Side told me of it. Why didn't I tell Sidious? Why would I want to help a man with blind judgment? Why would I want to help a man who thought he could rule an Empire?" Luke tried to stand, but he collapsed. He writhed in agony on the floor.

"Now, young Skywalker…" Suoidis grinned. "You will die."

…………………………………………………………….

The outside of the _Millennium Falcon_'s cockpit was a veil of green. The ship was dying, and there was no escape. Back and forth the _Falcon_ rocked as it was hit again and again.

"Han, what are going to do?" Leia asked. Han turned to her, and she was shocked to see tears in his eyes.

"I have an idea…" he said, trying to sound strong.

"Well use it!" Leia snapped.

From the sense of direction he still had with all of the madness, Han headed towards the Star Destroyer's docking bay, shooting down as many TIEs as he could.

The _Falcon _reached the docking bay and landed.

"Get out." Han ordered.

"What?" Leia gasped.

"_Get out!_" Han said again, and he exited the cockpit, lowering the landing ramp. Leia, confused, followed him.

When she reached the docking bay floor, she was shocked to see Han heading towards a high-class Imperial shuttle.

"Han, what are you doing?" Leia asked.

"She's too damaged to get us out of here alive." Han said, referring to the _Falcon_.

"We're going to leave the _Falcon_ to the Imperials?" Leia cried.

"It's our only choice." Han said, and he entered the shuttle. Leia, in a state of shock, followed him.

Han turned the shuttle on, and it exited the hangar. None of the TIEs shot at it in fear of shooting down an Admiral or the Emperor himself.

Han watched the docking bay get smaller and smaller as he flew away.

"Goodbye, girl." he said, and the shuttle jumped to lightspeed.

…………………………………………………………….

Blue lightning went through Luke's body, causing him unbearable pain. Palpatine's lightning could not kill. Suoidis' lightning could.

Luke screamed and screamed, but he knew that nobody would help him. Nobody even knew that he was _here_.

While he was killing Luke, Suoidis' laughed. Victory was his…

But what was that sudden disturbance in the Force?

With his last ounce of strength, Luke called his dropped lightsaber to him and he ignited it, putting it in the lightning's path. The lightning shot back at Suoidis, and the Dark Lord went flying across the room, crashing to the floor. Suoidis' lightsaber rolled away from its owner, igniting when it rolled on the ignition button. In an instant, Luke had his lightsaber blade at Suoidis' throat.

"It's over Suoidis," Luke said, looking down at the Emperor. "The Force is with me."

Suoidis looked at his lightsaber.

"My weapon says otherwise!" he shouted, and in less than a second, the Sith lightsaber was in Suoidis' hands and it's blade was going through Luke's chest.

Luke looked down at the red blade, then at Suoidis.

"You know nothing of the Force!" Suoidis laughed, and he turned off his weapon. Before Luke could fall to his knees, a Force push from Suoidis sent the Jedi down the room's elevator shaft. Luke fell and fell and fell…

…………………………………………………………….

Leia screamed, making Han jump.

"What's wrong?" he asked, but the pain in the Force was too great to describe. Luke couldn't be… Leia prayed that once, just for once, the Force was wrong.

…………………………………………………………….

The heat of the elevator shaft burnt Luke.

The walls of the elevator shaft bruised Luke.

The Force of the Jedi kept Luke alive. Barely alive, but alive.

Yes, the pain from Suoidis' blade was just as bad as death, but the Force comforted Luke and assured him that he would be safe.

And so the Force made Luke grab on to a metal pipe sticking out of the shaft's wall.

Luke hung on for his life. How would he get out of this? With each second his life slipped away more and more.

…………………………………………………………….

In the shuttle, Leia felt Luke's pain.

"Move, Han!" she suddenly shouted. She pushed Han out of the pilot's seat and took the shuttle out of lightspeed. She turned the ship around and made it jump to lightspeed again.

A few minutes later, the shuttle came out of lightspeed. They were at Korriban again. At the Star Destroyer again. The TIE fighters were gone.

"What are you doing?" Han yelled.

"Be quiet, Han!" Leia snapped. "I'm saving Luke!"

Leia landed the shuttle in the Star Destroyer's docking bay and quickly exited the ship. Luckily, all of the stormtroopers were resting. Leia focused her senses. The Force told her where Luke was.

Leia, using the Force, opened the docking bay's elevator doors. She looked down the shaft and saw a body dangling from a pole.

_Luke_. She thought. She tried to stay calm. Suddenly, she got an idea. She pressed the elevator activation button.

A few seconds later, an elevator rose from the shaft's shadows, and it picked Luke up. Before it reached her floor, Leia grabbed Luke from the elevator's roof and carried him over to the shuttle…

"_Leia_." Came a cold voice. Leia turned… and saw the man she had seen in her dream. His torso looked just like Darth Vader's, and his bottom half looked like something a dark warrior would wear.

"Who are you?" Leia asked.

"I am the New Emperor Suoidis." The man smiled. "And I must say that today is my lucky day. I get to kill both the children of Darth Vader." Suoidis took from his belt his regained lightsaber. He ignited it, not bothering to take out the other end.

_BANG!_

Smoke filled the room as two cannons from Han's new Imperial shuttle just missed Suoidis. Once the smoke cleared, Suoidis stuck his right hand out towards the shuttle. Slowly, the shuttle began to back out of the hangar. It was going to fall into space!

Suoidis pushed harder and harder with the Force, and inside the ship, Han was too confused at what was going on to do anything about it.

Leia took Suoidis' distraction to ignite her lightsaber and charge toward the Sith Lord.

One second later, Suoidis' right arm hit the floor. Suoidis stared at his new stump of an arm and then growled at Leia, who was running toward the stolen shuttle with Luke in her arms. Leia entered the shuttle and it took of, immediately jumping to lightspeed.

Inside the docking bay, Suoidis screamed with rage.


	13. EMPIRE REBORN

The Imperial shuttle approached Coruscant. Leia was piloting- Han was still in too much shock that his ship was now the enemy. In the back of the shuttle, a dying Luke rested.

The shuttle landed in front of Coruscant's main medical center. Hundreds of Rebel soldiers were ready to attack whoever was exiting the ship. They were shocked when they saw Leia Organa Solo exit, carrying her brother. Leia ran into the building.

…………………………………………………………….

Over the next several weeks Luke Skywalker was kept in a bacta tank. Leia visited him every single day.

Over the next several weeks the newly appointed Admiral Rotok watched the _Millennium Falcon_ become the Empire's greatest and newest fighter.

Over the next several weeks Emperor Suoidis meditated, as the scroll from Korriban instructed…

The scroll that contained the secret to cheating death itself.

Soon the Empire would be in control again…

And this time it would never die.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


End file.
